Sun Tzu Art of War

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SUN TZU
ON THE
ART OF WAR
Lionel Giles Translation
SUN TZU ON THE ART OF
WAR
www.artofwarsuntzu.com
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This e-book presents a
complete translation of
Sun Tzu on the Art of
War as penned by Dr.
Lionel Giles from Great
Britain. In 1910, Dr.
Lionel Giles, a staff
member of the
Department of
Oriental Printed Books
and Manuscripts at the
British Museum in
London, introduced the
English-speaking world
to an effective
translation of Sun Tzu
Bing Fa, literally
translated as
Sun Tzu on War
Methods. Lionel Giles
published his translation
through Luzac and Co. in
London and Shanghai
under the more
commercial title, Sun Tzu
on the Art of War.
Although written in
1910, this translation of
Sun Tzu's work continues
to be the standard from
which other English
translations of the Art of
War are measured. Dr.
Lionel Giles had both a
solid background in
military affairs and was
fluent in Chinese where
he served as a
representative of the
British government. He
was uniquely qualified to
translate the Art of
War in a way that would
explain what Sun Tzu
meant with each of his
passages.
The following, without
commentary, is the Dr.
Giles translation: as it
appeared in the copy of
original Luzac and Co.
book pictured here.
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I. LAYING PLANS
1. Sun Tzu said: The art of
war is of vital importance
to the State.
2. It is a matter of life and
death, a road either to
safety or to ruin. Hence it
is a subject of inquiry
which can on no account
be neglected.
3. The art of war, then, is
governed by five constant
factors, to be taken into
account in ones
deliberations, when
seeking to determine the

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conditions obtaining in
the field.
4. These are: (1) The
Moral Law; (2) Heaven;
(3) Earth; (4) The
Commander; (5) Method
and
discipline.
5,6. The Moral Law
causes the people to be in
complete accord with
their ruler, so that they
wil fol ow
him regardless of their
lives, undismayed by any
danger.
7. Heaven signifies night
and day, cold and heat,
times and seasons.
8. Earth comprises
distances, great and
smal ; danger and
security; open ground
and narrow passes;
the chances of life and
death.
9. The Commander stands
for the virtues of wisdom,
sincerely, benevolence,
courage and strictness.
10. By method and
discipline are to be
understood the
marshaling of the army in
its proper subdivisions,
the graduations of rank
among the officers, the
maintenance of roads by
which supplies may reach
the army, and the control
of military expenditure.
11. These five heads
should be familiar to
every general: he who
knows them wil be
victorious; he
who knows them not wil
fail.
12. Therefore, in your
deliberations, when
seeking to determine the
military conditions, let
them be
made the basis of a
comparison, in this wise:
—
1 LAYING PLANS
SUN TZU ON THE ART OF
WAR
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13. (1) Which of the two
sovereigns is imbued with
the Moral law?
(2) Which of the two
generals has most ability?
(3) With whom lie the
advantages derived from
Heaven
and Earth?
(4) On which side is
discipline most rigorously
enforced?
(5) Which army is
stronger?
(6) On which side are
officers and men more
highly trained?
(7) In which army is there

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the greater constancy
both in reward and
punishment?
14. By means of these
seven considerations I
can forecast victory or
defeat.
15. The general that
hearkens to my counsel
and acts upon it, wil
conquer: let such a one
be
retained in command!
The general that hearkens
not to my counsel nor
acts upon it, wil suffer
defeat:—let such a one
be dismissed!
16. While heading the
profit of my counsel, avail
yourself also of any
helpful circumstances
over and
beyond the ordinary
rules.
17. According as
circumstances are
favorable, one should
modify one’s plans.
18. Al warfare is based
on deception.
19. Hence, when able to
attack, we must seem
unable; when using our
forces, we must seem
inactive; when we are
near, we must make the
enemy believe we are far
away; when far away, we
must make him believe
we are near.
20. Hold out baits to
entice the enemy. Feign
disorder, and crush him.
21. If he is secure at al
points, be prepared for
him. If he is in superior
strength, evade him.
22. If your opponent is of
choleric temper, seek to
irritate him. Pretend to
be weak, that he may
grow
arrogant.
23. If he is taking his ease,
give him no rest. If his
forces are united,
separate them.
24. Attack him where he
is unprepared, appear
where you are not
expected.
25. These military
devices, leading to
victory, must not be
divulged beforehand.
26. Now the general who
wins a battle makes many
calculations in his temple
ere the battle is fought.
The general who loses a
battle makes but few
calculations beforehand.
Thus do many
calculations
lead to victory, and few
calculations to defeat:
how much more no

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calculation at al ! It is by
attention
to this point that I can
foresee who is likely to
win or lose.
2
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II. WAGING WAR
1. Sun Tzu said: In the
operations of war, where
there are in the field a
thousand swift chariots,
as many heavy chariots,
and a hundred thousand
mail-clad soldiers, with
provisions enough to
carry them a thousand li,
the expenditure at home
and at the front, including
entertainment of guests,
smal items such as glue
and paint, and sums
spent on chariots and
armor, wil reach the total
of a
thousand ounces of silver
per day. Such is the cost
of raising an army of
100,000 men.
2. When you engage in
actual fighting, if victory
is long in coming, then
men’s weapons wil grow
dull
and their ardor wil be
damped. If you lay siege
to a town, you wil
exhaust your strength.
3. Again, if the campaign
is protracted, the
resources of the State wil
not be equal to the strain.
4. Now, when your
weapons are dulled, your
ardor damped, your
strength exhausted and
your
treasure spent, other
chieftains wil spring up
to take advantage of your
extremity. Then no man,
however wise, wil be
able to avert the
consequences that must
ensue.
5. Thus, though we have
heard of stupid haste in
war, cleverness has never
been seen associated
with long delays.
6. There is no instance of
a country having
benefited from prolonged
warfare.
7. It is only one who is
thoroughly acquainted
with the evils of war that
can thoroughly
understand the
profitable way of carrying
it on.
8. The skil ful soldier does
not raise a second levy,
neither are his supply-
wagons loaded more than
twice.
9. Bring war material with
you from home, but

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forage on the enemy.
Thus the army wil have
food
enough for its needs.
10. Poverty of the State
exchequer causes an
army to be maintained by
contributions from a
distance.
Contributing to maintain
an army at a distance
causes the people to be
impoverished.
3 WAGING WAR
SUN TZU ON THE ART OF
WAR
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11. On the other hand,
the proximity of an army
causes prices to go up;
and high prices cause the
people’s substance to be
drained away.
12. When their substance
is drained away, the
peasantry wil be afflicted
by heavy exactions.
13,14. With this loss of
substance and exhaustion
of strength, the homes of
the people wil be
stripped bare, and three-
tenths of their income
wil be dissipated; while
government expenses for
broken chariots, worn-
out horses, breast-plates
and helmets, bows and
arrows, spears and
shields,
protective mantles,
draught-oxen and heavy
wagons, wil amount to
four-tenths of its total
revenue.
15. Hence a wise general
makes a point of foraging
on the enemy. One
cartload of the enemy’s
provisions is equivalent to
twenty of one’s own, and
likewise a single picul of
his provender is
equivalent
to twenty from one’s own
store.
16. Now in order to kil
the enemy, our men must
be roused to anger; that
there may be advantage
from defeating the
enemy, they must have
their rewards.
17. Therefore in chariot
fighting, when ten or
more chariots have been
taken, those should be
rewarded
who took the first. Our
own flags should be
substituted for those of
the enemy, and the
chariots
mingled and used in
conjunction with ours.
The captured soldiers
should be kindly treated
and kept.

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18. This is cal ed, using
the conquered foe to
augment one’s own
strength.
19. In war, then, let your
great object be victory,
not lengthy campaigns.
20. Thus it may be known
that the leader of armies
is the arbiter of the
people’s fate, the man on
whom it depends
whether the nation shal
be in peace or in peril.
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III. ATTACK BY
STRATAGEM
1. Sun Tzu said: In the
practical art of war, the
best thing of al is to take
the enemy’s country
whole
and intact; to shatter and
destroy it is not so good.
So, too, it is better to
recapture an army entire
than to destroy it, to
capture a regiment, a
detachment or a
company entire than to
destroy them.
2. Hence to fight and
conquer in al your battles
is not supreme
excel ence; supreme
excel ence
consists in breaking the
enemy’s resistance
without fighting.
3. Thus the highest form
of generalship is to balk
the enemy’s plans; the
next best is to prevent
the
junction of the enemy’s
forces; the next in order
is to attack the enemy’s
army in the field; and the
worst policy of al is to
besiege wal ed cities.
4. The rule is, not to
besiege wal ed cities if it
can possibly be avoided.
The preparation of
mantlets,
movable shelters, and
various implements of
war, wil take up three
whole months; and the
piling up
of mounds over against
the wal s wil take three
months more.
5. The general, unable to
control his irritation, wil
launch his men to the
assault like swarming
ants,
with the result that one-
third of his men are slain,
while the town stil
remains untaken. Such
are the
disastrous effects of a
siege.
6. Therefore the skil ful
leader subdues the

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enemy’s troops without
any fighting; he captures
their
cities without laying siege
to them; he overthrows
their kingdom without
lengthy operations in the
field.
7. With his forces intact
he wil dispute the
mastery of the Empire,
and thus, without losing a
man, his
triumph wil be complete.
This is the method of
attacking by stratagem.
8. It is the rule in war, if
our forces are ten to the
enemy’s one, to surround
him; if five to one, to
attack
him; if twice as
numerous, to divide our
army into two.
5 ATTACK BY STRATAGEM
SUN TZU ON THE ART OF
WAR
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9. If equal y matched, we
can offer battle; if slightly
inferior in numbers, we
can avoid the enemy; f
quite unequal in every
way, we can flee from
him.
10. Hence, though an
obstinate fight may be
made by a smal force, in
the end it must be
captured by
the larger force.
11. Now the general is
the bulwark of the State;
if the bulwark is complete
at al points; the State wil
be strong; if the bulwark
is defective, the State wil
be weak.
12. There are three ways
in which a ruler can bring
misfortune upon his
army:—
13. (1) By commanding
the army to advance or to
retreat, being ignorant of
the fact that it cannot
obey. This is cal ed
hobbling the army.
14. (2) By attempting to
govern an army in the
same way as he
administers a kingdom,
being ignorant
of the conditions which
obtain in an army. This
causes restlessness in the
soldier’s minds.
15. (3) By employing the
officers of his army
without discrimination,
through ignorance of the
military
principle of adaptation to
circumstances. This
shakes the confidence of
the soldiers.
16. But when the army is
restless and distrustful,

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trouble is sure to come
from the other feudal
princes. This is simply
bringing anarchy into the
army, and flinging victory
away.
17. Thus we may know
that there are five
essentials for victory:
(1) He wil win who knows
when to fight and when
not to fight.
(2) He wil win who knows
how to handle both
superior and inferior
forces.
(3) He wil win whose
army is animated by the
same spirit throughout al
its ranks.
(4) He wil win who,
prepared himself, waits
to take the enemy
unprepared.
(5) He wil win who has
military capacity and is
not interfered with by the
sovereign.
18. Hence the saying: If
you know the enemy and
know yourself, you need
not fear the result of a
hundred battles. If you
know yourself but not the
enemy, for every victory
gained you wil also suffer
a defeat. If you know
neither the enemy nor
yourself, you wil
succumb in every battle.
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IV. TACTICAL
DISPOSITIONS
1. Sun Tzu said: The good
fighters of old first put
themselves beyond the
possibility of defeat, and
then waited for an
opportunity of defeating
the enemy.
2. To secure ourselves
against defeat lies in our
own hands, but the
opportunity of defeating
the
enemy is provided by the
enemy himself.
3. Thus the good fighter is
able to secure himself
against defeat, but
cannot make certain of
defeating
the enemy.
4. Hence the saying: One
may know how to
conquer without being
able to do it.
5. Security against defeat
implies defensive tactics;
ability to defeat the
enemy means taking the
offensive.
6. Standing on the
defensive indicates
insufficient strength;
attacking, a
superabundance of

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strength.
7. The general who is
skil ed in defense hides in
the most secret recesses
of the earth; he who is
skil ed in attack flashes
forth from the topmost
heights of heaven. Thus
on the one hand we have
ability to protect
ourselves; on the other, a
victory that is complete.
8. To see victory only
when it is within the ken
of the common herd is
not the acme of
excel ence.
9. Neither is it the acme
of excel ence if you fight
and conquer and the
whole Empire says, “Wel
done!”
10. To lift an autumn hair
is no sign of great
strength; to see the sun
and moon is no sign of
sharp
sight; to hear the noise of
thunder is no sign of a
quick ear.
11. What the ancients
cal ed a clever fighter is
one who not only wins,
but excels in winning with
ease.
7 TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS
SUN TZU ON THE ART OF
WAR
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12. Hence his victories
bring him neither
reputation for wisdom
nor credit for courage.
13. He wins his battles by
making no mistakes.
Making no mistakes is
what establishes the
certainty
of victory, for it means
conquering an enemy
that is already defeated.
14. Hence the skil ful
fighter puts himself into a
position which makes
defeat impossible, and
does
not miss the moment for
defeating the enemy.
15. Thus it is that in war
the victorious strategist
only seeks battle after the
victory has been won,
whereas he who is
destined to defeat first
fights and afterwards
looks for victory.
16. The consummate
leader cultivates the
moral law, and strictly
adheres to method and
discipline;
thus it is in his power to
control success.
17. In respect of military
method, we have, firstly,
Measurement; secondly,
Estimation of quantity;
thirdly, Calculation;

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fourthly, Balancing of
chances; fifthly, Victory.
18. Measurement owes
its existence to Earth;
Estimation of quantity to
Measurement;
Calculation to
Estimation of quantity;
Balancing of chances to
Calculation; and Victory
to Balancing of chances.
19. A victorious army
opposed to a routed one,
is as a pound’s weight
placed in the scale against
a
single grain.
20. The onrush of a
conquering force is like
the bursting of pent-up
waters into a chasm a
thousand
fathoms deep.
8
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V. ENERGY
1. Sun Tzu said: The
control of a large force is
the same principle as the
control of a few men: it is
merely a question of
dividing up their
numbers.
2. Fighting with a large
army under your
command is nowise
different from fighting
with a smal one:
it is merely a question of
instituting signs and
signals.
3. To ensure that your
whole host may
withstand the brunt of
the enemy’s attack and
remain
unshaken— this is
effected by maneuvers
direct and indirect.
4. That the impact of your
army may be like a
grindstone dashed
against an egg—this is
effected by
the science of weak
points and strong.
5. In al fighting, the
direct method may be
used for joining battle,
but indirect methods wil
be needed
in order to secure victory.
6. Indirect tactics,
efficiently applied, are
inexhaustible as Heaven
and Earth, unending as
the flow of
rivers and streams; like
the sun and moon, they
end but to begin anew;
like the four seasons,
they
pass away to return once
more.
7. There are not more
than five musical notes,
yet the combinations of
these five give rise to

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